An entertainer but not an actor, always the sidekick and never the star, Ed McMahon had one of the most recognizable faces (and voices) in America. He is remembered best as Johnny Carson's longtime sidekick on The Tonight Show and as the host of Star Search, and his name is synonymous with the Publisher's Clearinghouse Sweepstakes. Ed McMahon garnered much fame but little critical acclaim throughout his lengthy Hollywood career. Sometimes things work out that way for a reason.

Biography

Edward Leo McMahon was born on March 6, 1923 in Detroit, Michigan. Growing up, he didn't dream of showbiz but of architecture, and planned to use his natural talent for mathematics and engineering as an architect. To make extra money as a teenager, he spent three years touring with fairs and carnivals as a bingo caller. When the United States entered World War II, McMahon enlisted with the Marines and eventually became a fighter pilot. After the end of the war, he landed a job hawking vegetable slicers in Atlantic City in order to pay his way through Catholic University in Washington, D.C. Alas, his goal of becoming an architect was not meant to be, as the lure of the fledgling television industry was too strong to resist.

In the late 1940s, Ed McMahon moved to Philadelphia to try to break into broadcasting. He entered the world of television in 1950 playing a clown on the show Big Top, harkening back to his days as a carny. His height (6' 3") and booming voice got the attention of audiences, and within two years, McMahon had recurring roles on no less than 13 television series. His career in entertainment was interrupted in 1952, when McMahon once again joined the Marines to fight in the Korean War as a pilot. When he returned to the States, his acting career was in shambles, as all of his television shows had been canceled in his absence.

He spent the next few years scrambling for bit parts on television, until 1958, when he was hired to play the straight man on the daytime quiz show Who Do You Trust?, hosted by one Johnny Carson. The chemistry between Carson and McMahon was obvious, so when Carson took over for Jack Paar as the host of NBC's Tonight Show in 1962, he took McMahon with him.

McMahon would remain Carson's sidekick for the next 30 years, becoming known for his signature gravelly chuckle and frequent exclamations of "Yes, sir! You are correct, sir!" (although McMahon has since claimed that he has no recollection of ever uttering these words). He was also the originator of the line, "Heeeeeere's Johnny!", later made infamous by Jack Nicholson in The Shining. As a sidekick, Ed McMahon was more of a caricature than a character, and nowadays, it is difficult to ascertain whether he is better known because of his work on The Tonight Show, or because of Phil Hartman's hilariously accurate impersonation of him on Saturday Night Live.

McMahon spent his evenings with Carson, but he spent his days pursuing other opportunities in Hollywood. He tried his hand at acting, starring in a handful of movies throughout the 1960s and 1970s, which universally bombed at the box office. It appears that the only character that Ed McMahon is suited to play is, well, Ed McMahon. Rather than become discouraged by his failure as a leading man, McMahon resolved to capitalize on his success as a television personality. He received constant work in commercials, peddling everything from dog food to life insurance. He also made innumerable cameo appearances in films and on sitcoms, usually playing the role of himself.

In the 1980s, Ed McMahon landed jobs as the host of two prime time shows that helped to minimize his public image as second banana to Johnny Carson: TV's Bloopers and Practical Jokes (co-hosted by the freakishly ageless Dick Clark) and Star Search. Bloopers, featuring outtakes from various television shows, ran for a mere two seasons, but the syndicated Star Search enjoyed a phenomenal 12 year run. Star Search was a variety show in which amateur entertainers, many of them children, performed their hearts out in front of a panel of celebrity judges. The show was the first public exposure for many future celebrities, including Dennis Miller, Drew Carey, Rosie O'Donnell, Martin Lawrence, Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, and LeAnn Rimes. We can also blame Star Search for launching the career of the professionally obnoxious Carrot Top, who McMahon specifically mentions as a subject of fond memories.

When Johnny Carson retired from The Tonight Show in 1992, McMahon did the same, claiming that he did so to preserve the memories of the Carson/McMahon duo, although the more likely explanation is that NBC forced him out to make room for the younger, "hipper" comedy of new host Jay Leno. Ed McMahon spent his post-Carson years doing yet more (largely forgettable) television advertisements and guest appearances, as well as putting his name on several books, including two personal memoirs: For Laughing Out Loud and Here's Johnny.

In his golden years, McMahon also demonstrated a penchant for filing lawsuits, as a series of medical and financial problems kept him in the public eye. In 2001, a pipe burst in the living room of his Beverly Hills home, spreading toxic mold throughout the residence and allegedly sickening McMahon and his wife, as well as causing the death of the family dog. After a protracted legal battle, McMahon collected more than $7 million in damages from contractors who had failed to adequately clean up the mold. In 2007, McMahon suffered a broken neck during a fall, and later sued the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center for elder abuse and emotional distress during treatment for the injury. He made headlines again in 2008 when faced with foreclosure on his mansion, but was eventually bailed out by Donald Trump, who claimed to be motivated by nostalgia for older episodes of The Tonight Show.

After months of ongoing health issues, including chronic pain from his neck injury, unconfirmed reports of bone cancer, and a lengthy bout with pneumonia, Ed McMahon died at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center on June 23, 2009, at the age of 86. He is survived by his wife and five children.

Random Tidbits

As spokesman for the sweepstakes sponsored by American Family Publishers, Ed McMahon has shown up to winners' homes and personally awarded upwards of 80 million dollars in prizes. He later starred in a public service announcement that spoofs this fact, as McMahon knocks on doors in a suburban neighborhood to encourage homeowners to join the Neighborhood Watch, only to find that people go into hysterics as soon as they see him, thinking that they have won a multimillion dollar grand prize.

Ed McMahon was the vice president of the Muscular Dystrophy Association, and co-hosted the annual MDA Labor Day Telethon with Jerry Lewis for decades.

Ed McMahon liked 'em young. In 1977, he married his second wife, Victoria Valentine, who was his junior by 23 years. They divorced in 1989, and in 1992, he married Pam Hurn, 32 years younger than himself. His predilection for women who are younger than the four children he had by his first wife (Alyce Ferrill, to whom he was married between 1949 and 1976) caused quite a bit of whispering in Hollywood, but McMahon refused to comment on his personal life.

One of McMahon's last paying gigs was in 2004, as the announcer and sidekick on ALF's Hit Talk Show on the TV Land cable network. The show featured Alf (yes, the puppet from the 80s) as a Carson-like host interviewing various D-list celebrities. It was canceled after seven episodes. Oh, Ed.

Partial Filmography

Movies

• Dementia (1955)
• The Incident (1967)
• Slaughter's Big Rip-Off (1973)
• Fun with Dick and Jane (1977)
• The Last Remake of Beau Geste (1977)
• Full Moon High (1981)
• Butterfly (1981)
• Pink Cadillac (1989)
• Love Affair (1994)
• For Which He Stands (1996)
• Just Write (1997)
• Off the Menu: The Last Days of Chasen's (1998)
• Mixed Blessings (1998)
• Pitch People (1999)
• The Vegas Connection (1999)
• Let Me In, I Hear Laughter (1999)

Television (not including numerous guest appearances)

• Big Top (1950)
• Two for the Money (1957)
• Who Do You Trust? (1958-1962)
• Tonight Show (1962-1992)
• Missing Links (1963-1964)
• Snap Judgement (1967-1969)
• The Enormous Egg (1968)
• Concentration (1969)
• Legends of the Super-Heroes (1977)
• Lucy Calls the President (1977)
• Whodunnit? (1979)
• The Kid from Left Field (1979)
• Gridlock (1980)
• Star Search (1983-1995)
• TV's Bloopers and Practical Jokes (1984-1986, reprised in 1991)
• Bruno the Kid (1996)
• The Tom Show (1997)
• Safety Patrol (1998)
• Ed McMahon's Next Big Star (2002)
• ALF's Hit Talk Show (2004)

Sources:
http://www.time.com/time/community/transcripts/chattr101998.html
http://www.yesterdayland.com/features/interviews/mcmahon_e.php
http://www.horatioalger.com/member/mcm84.htm
http://www.who2.com/edmcmahon.html
http://www.mdausa.org/news/010628mcmahon_bio.html
http://abcnews.go.com/sections/entertainment/DailyNews/mcmahon020411.html
http://us.imdb.com/Name?McMahon,+Ed